Pedal powered kayak

ABSTRACT

A pedal-powered kayak, the present invention offers a more rounded keel and stem which operates in the water leaving no or little wake in the front or the rear of the boat. Since little water passes into the boat there no rough ride. The hull further provides a pair of fullers integrally formed on hull and extending along each side of the hull from said keel to said stem to provide a greater wetting surface for the hull as kayak moves over a body of water. The hull also provides a pair of strakes for lifting the hull as the kayak increases speed over the water.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to watercraft, and more particularly tooccupant-powered watercraft.

2. Description of the Related Art

Pedal-type watercraft have never been popular due the weight andmaintenance of the gearing assembly. However, in recent years,popularity has increased due at least in part to participants active inbiking, swimming, canoeing and other types of water sports forindividuals who are the health-conscious. With new recent legislationrestricting the use of motorized watercraft such as jet skis due tosafety concerns, water bike have increased in popularity. In addition,the pedal powered water vehicles have great advantages for use inhunting and fishing as they run silent and can be taken into rockyhazardous areas with the fear of damaging the motor. Pedal poweredwatercraft can travel greater distances faster than oar powered craftand can be quickly stabilized without dropping a rod or a gun to pick upan oar to maintain stability of the boat.

One type of pedal-powered watercraft is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,795,381 issued to Willems on Jan. 3, 1989. The watercraft disclosed byWillems includes a floating body upon which a pedal assembly andrecumbent seat are mounted. The seat can be adjusted toward or away fromthe pedal assembly to accommodate different sizes of users. An endlessdrive chain, reduction gearing, and a drive shaft connect the pedalassembly to a propeller. In one embodiment of this patent, the propellerand drive shaft extend downwardly and rearwardly from the floating body.A tandem seating arrangement is also shown.

Beres U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,551 discloses a pedal-powered watercraftshaped as a kayak with an integrally molded seat. A pedal assembly isconnected to a propeller through a transmission and drive shaftarrangement. A front storage compartment as well as a rear storagecompartment are provided.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,242 further discloses a pedal powered watercraftmade with a unitary hull. The hull is made of a pair of spaced sponsonslocated on each side of the hull. Each sponson has a front wall thatmeets the water head on but becomes unstable as the water enters thekeel at the tip of the boat causing a rocking motion. The rocking iscaused during movement of the watercraft when water enters into thetunnel at the bow portion and exit the tunnel at the stem portion.Although the propeller is retractable, a large portion remains in thewater during storage in the tunnel area.

Pedal-powered watercraft of the past also fail to present a hull designfor traveling in rough water. Most hulls for these types of watercraftare designed for a one time user to get on and off the boat withoutfalling into the water from the boat tipping. Such uses are in marinasor small ponds where the water is generally calm and the boat does nothave to generate speed for long distance travel. There is a need in therecreational sports field for a pedal powered watercraft which isdesigned for high speed but stable enough for maneuvering in wateraround rocks and debris in the water. There is a greater need for apedal powered kayak with a drive assembly and hull which is simple tooperate and designed for speed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a watercraft with anaerodynamic hull designed to cut through water at high speed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high speedwatercraft for outdoor sports.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a watercraft witha novel seating arrangement.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide apedal-powered watercraft having a retractable rudder assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pedal-poweredwatercraft which has a retractable drive assembly with a novel bracketand pivot mechanism.

It is an even further object of the invention to provide a pedal-poweredwatercraft with a means for lifting the hull during movement in thewater.

According to the invention, a pedal powered kayak is presented which hasa deck and a hull with a stem and a keel connected by a central bodyportion formed with a central concave recess extending the length of thecentral body between said keel and said stem. The keel has asubstantially round body portion ending in a pointed tip for a smoothfrictionless motion through the water. The drive assembly is connectedto a propeller for driving said kayak over a body of water with littleresistance. The drive assembly is positioned over said centrally formedconcave recess and extends through the bottom surface into and belowsaid centrally formed concave recess.

The hull further provides a pair of fullers integrally formed on hulland extending along each side of the hull from said keel to said stem toprovide a greater wetting surface for the hull as kayak moves over abody of water. The hull also provides a pair of strakes for lifting thehull as the kayak increases speed over the water.

A novel handle is provided for retracting the drive assembly intostorage for nonuse.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and appended claims, and uponreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein likedesignations denote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pedal powered kayak according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a left side perspective view of the pedal powered kayak.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the pedal powered kayak of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the pedal powered kayak of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a front bottom view of the pedal powered kayak of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a rear bottom view of the pedal powered kayak of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a front end—bottom view of the pedal powered kayak of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a pedal powered tandem kayak of thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a front end view of the pedal powered kayak of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a right side perspective view of the pedal powered kayak ofthe present invention.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of a seat assembly for the pedal powered kayak ofthe present invention.

FIG. 12 is an exploded rear view of a seat assembly for the pedalpowered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a rear view of a seat assembly for the pedal powered kayak ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a retraction and rudder assembly of thepedal powered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a retraction and rudder assembly of thepedal powered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a retraction and rudder assembly of thepedal powered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a retraction assembly of the pedalpowered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an exploded view of a retraction and rudder assembly of thepedal powered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a retraction and rudder assembly of thepedal powered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a retraction handle of the pedalpowered kayak of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a retraction handle for the pedalpowered kayak of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to an improvement over U.S. Pat. No.6,210,242 which is hereby incorporated by reference.

With reference to FIGS. 1, a pedal-powered watercraft or kayak 10according to the invention is illustrated. The watercraft 10 includes ahull 12, a pedal drive assembly 13, a deck 14, a keel 15, a stem 16 anda retractable rear rudder 17. The keel 15 is closed within the hull 12to move within the water without allowing the water to pass through thewatercraft from keel 15 to stern 16. Unlike the watercraft described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,210,242, the water is forced out of the way of thewatercraft during travel. The hull further includes a central bodyportion 18 having a bottom surface 19 with a centrally formed concaverecess 20 extending the length of the central body portion 18 betweenthe keel 15 and the stem 16. The retractable rear rudder 17 is attachedto the rear of the stem 16 and is used for guiding the watercraft 10.

Turning to FIGS. 2-7, the watercraft 10 is illustrated without themoving mechanical parts shown in FIG. 1. The watercraft is less than 15feet in length and less than two feet in width. The hull 12 offersstraight tracking due to the shape of the pointed keel 15 and stern 16.As shown in FIG. 2, the keel 15 has a pointed end 21 provided with anintegrally formed blade 22 which extends into the water to preventrocking of the watercraft during movement through the water. Likewise,the stem 16 also has a pointed tip 23 with a blade 24 which extends intothe water to prevent rocking of the watercraft during movement throughthe water. As the user pedals the boat through the water wetting actionis produced on each bottom surface of the keel and stem to refinestability of the watercraft during movement.

Extra stability and efficiency are further achieved by recessing acenter tunnel 30 in the central body portion 18. This creates a hull 12that has the stability of a wide v-type hull with the efficiency of alonger narrower hull because the tunnel 30 formed in the central bodyportion 18 of the hull 12 reduces the effective wetted area, andprovides access to the water for the pedal drive assembly 13. Unlikeprior art kayaks, the present invention offers a more rounded keel andstern which operates in the water leaving no or little wake in the frontor the rear of the boat. Instead of the water passing through the boatthe water follows the outline of the hull with a frictionless glidethrough the water. Since little water passes into the boat there norough ride. An elongated opening 30 a is provided through the bottomsurface for positioning the drive assembly 13 over the central bodyportion 18 through the concave recess 20 and into a body of water belowthe hull 12. The elongated aperture 30 a further permits a user toremove debris from the drive assembly 13 positioned below the hull 12.The width of the hull 12 from the opening 30 a to each side of thewatercraft 12 is approximately 4½ feet.

Provided on each side of the hull are lifting strakes or ribs 31 and 32.The right side strake 31 is integrally formed on hull 12 and extendsalong the hull 12 from just inside the keel 15 to just inside the stem16. The left side strake 32 is integrally formed on the hull 12 andextends along the hull 12 from the keel 15 to the stem 16. The strakeshelp the hull plane slightly under increased power.

The hull 12 is further provided with hydrodynamic fullers 33 and 34.Fullers are recesses or grooves in the hull 12. The right side fuller 33is integrally formed on hull 12 and extends along the hull 12 from thekeel 15 to the stem 16. The left side fuller 32 is integrally formed onthe hull 12 and extends along the hull 12 from the keel 15 to the stem16. The fullers are designed to channel air fore to aft,,decreasing hullsurface tension and drag.

In operation, a user sits in a chair 50 mounted in the hull of the boatand pedals the drive assembly which turns propeller 51 causing thewatercraft 10 to move through the water. The drive assembly 13 whenfully extended, besides providing propulsion, also acts as a centerboard in the water. The center mounted drive assembly 13 creates astable hull 12 that resists the side to side rocking motion created whenraising and lowering the legs during pedaling. The center position ofthe drive assembly 13 also gives the watercraft 10 a sharp turningradius by providing a center pivot point which the rear mounted rudder17 can easily turn the watercraft 10 around. Finally, the drive assembly13, extended 22″ into the water provides a fulcrum that lowers thetipping moment of the hull 12, dramatically increases the kayak'sstability over waves and in rough water.

The drive assembly 13 rests in two lower drive collars 60 that arefirmly attached to the hull 12 at the trunk 110. The drive assembly 83is clamped in place with two upper drive collars 3 held with fourspacers 6 and bolts 7 and friction o-rings 9. The drive assembly iscentered and held firmly from side to side motion within its' mountingby a lower drive mount 106 mounted in a recess on the bottom of the hull& held with three machine screws 107.

The drive trunk 110 is surrounded by a cockpit 117. The cockpit has aseat assy. 115 mounted on fore & aft moving seat slides 163, 164 and asteering handle assy 114 controlling a rudder assembly 113 which steersthe boat. The deck has a hatch cover 112 providing access to the frontcargo area and a rear storage deck 116. Also shown is a tandem versionof the hull with two cockpits 118, 119 and two drive assemblies 83. Allmechanical systems as well as the hull's operate the same for the singleand tandem boat. In the tandem steering is controlled from rear cockpit119 as a steering handle 114 is located there.

Illustrated in FIGS. 11-13, and positioning the rider in the optimumrecumbent position for power and comfort is accomplished through the useof a 2 way adjustment seat assembly 115. Fore and aft adjustment isthrough seat slides 163, 164 attached to the seat bottom with screws 163fitted into inserts 168 molded into the seat bottom 155. The right seatslide 163 has a handle operating a locking mechanism 163 a. Upper andlower seat hinges 158, 157, 156 are attached to seat back and bottom154, 155 with machine screws 171 fitted into inserts 169, 170 moldedinto the seat back and bottom 154, 155. The seat back 154 hingesfore/aft and lays flat for transporting. The seat adjustment assembly172 controls a seat back adjustment 174. Adjustment ramps 162 providefour different stops for the upper seat hinge edges 177 to rest on.Adjustment is made by rotating seat adjustment knobs 159 on either sideof the seat assembly 115. The knobs 159 and seat adjustment ramps 162rotate on metal collars 177 a turning in corresponding holes 178 in thelower seat hinges 158. The knobs 159 slip onto the seat adjustment rod166 with stops formed by roll pins 167 inserted in the seat adjustmentrod 166. This square seat adjustment rod 166 keeps the adjacent ramps162 timed together to provide equal adjustment on both sides. The knobs159 and ramps 162 are held in place against the roll pins 167 by screwsthreaded into the seat adjacent rod 166 and through the knobs 159. Smallcaps 160 fit into the knobs 159 and cover the screws 165.

With regards to FIGS. 14-21, the retractable rudder assembly 113 isconnected to a steering handle assy 114 by a push-pull teleflex cable,provides simple and precise steering for the hull. The rudder assy 113is attached to the hull by the rudder bracket assy 138 which includes arudder bracket hinge 128 and a rudder bracket strap 129.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 8 in the form of a pedalpowered tandem kayak 90 which has two seats 91,92 and two driveassemblies 93,94 along with a body 95 a keel 96 and a stern 97. Thepedal powered tandem kayak shown in the drawing is identical to thesingle drive boat except it is designed for two passengers.

The rudder assy 113 has positive stops 152 as a part of the rudderhousing 140 which limits the side to side rotation by only rotatinguntil the stops 152 reach the sides of the rudder bracket 153. Thislimits the rudder assembly 113 from over rotating to the point of damageor past being effective as a rudder. The rudder assy 113 rotates on aclevis pin 137 and washer 132 held in place by a lock ring 131. Therudder housing 140 consists of a hinge tube 181, right side housing 182,left side housing 183 and a steering bracket 180 all welded together andbolted with screw posts 133 machine screws 179 & spacers 134. The rudderblade 139 rotates on and is held in the rudder housing 140 by a tensionknob 142 passing through holes 184 in the rudder housings 182,183 and ahole 186 in the rudder blade 139. The rudder blade 139 is spring loadedto remain down, as well as kick-up and return when striking an object,by a torsion spring attached to the rudder blade 139. This spring 141 isengaged by the tension knob 142. The knob 142 can be rotated until thecorrect tension is achieved. The knob 142 is then pushed in to engage inholes 185 located in the left rudder housing 183. The tension knob 142is then held in the position by a hitch pin 143.

The rudder blade 139 is retracted out of the water by rotating it 180degrees on the tension knob 142. The blade is rotated remotely from thecockpit by a rudder retract cord 123 passing through a housing 124 andlocked in the up position by a jam cleat 122 mounted on the steeringhandle cover 187. The retract cord 123 is able to pull the spring loadedrudder blade upward by extending the cord outward past the pivot pointby the lift rod 136 which hinges on a roll pin 135. The lift rod followsthe cord 123 to the up position with the cord 123 threaded through theretract cord eye 130 into the cord housing 124. When the cord 123 isreleased from the jam cleat 122, the spring loaded rudder blade 139returns to the down position pulling the retract cord 123 and lift rod136 back into its extended position.

The steering handle 188 with non-slip grip 144 has a plastic bearing 150which rotates on a shoulder bolt 146. A tension spring 149 rests againstthe steering handle cover 187 and plastic washer 145 to hold thesteering handle 188 in place. The shoulder bolt 146 is threaded into aninsert molded into the hull. The head of the shoulder bolt passesthrough a hole 191 in the steering cover 187 providing a shoulder bolt146 firmly mounted at both ends for the steering handle and bearing 188,150 to rotate about.

The hull and deck are preferably constructed of a strong, light-weightand waterproof material, such as fiberglass, aluminum, composites,laminates, and the like. A multi-layer laminate known as rotomoldedpolyethylene or vacuum formed polyethylene. The latter is better knownas twin sheet technology and is especially suitable for the-hull anddeck.

It is to be understood that the terms inner, outer, upper, lower,horizontal, vertical, and their respective derivatives, as usedthroughout the specification refer to relative, rather than absoluteorientations and/or positions.

Thus, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respectsonly as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes that come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

1. A pedal powered kayak, said pedaled powered kayak comprising, a hull,said hull having a stem, a keel and a central body portion, said keelhaving a pointed end and a rounded body area with a blade for guidingsaid kayak, said stem having a bottom blade and a drive assemblyconnected to a propeller for driving said kayak over a body of water. 2.The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1, said hull furthercomprising a right side fuller and a left side fuller, said right sidefuller integrally formed on said hull and extending along said hull fromsaid keel to said stem said left side fuller integrally formed on saidhull and extending along said hull from said keel to said stern, saidfullers extending the wetting surface of said hull as said kayak movesover a body of water.
 3. The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim1, said hull further comprising a right side stake and a left sidestake, said right side stake integrally formed on said hull andextending along said hull from said keel to said stem said left sidestake integrally formed on said hull and extending along said hull fromsaid keel to said stem, said stakes causing a lifting of said hull assaid kayak moves over a body of water.
 4. The pedal powered kayak asrecited into claim 1, said kayak further comprising means for retractingsaid drive assembly.
 5. The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1,said kayak further comprising a retractable rudder assembly.
 6. Thepedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1, said kayak furthercomprising a trunk, said trunk formed in said central body portion, saidtrunk housing said drive assembly in retracted position.
 7. A pedalpowered kayak, said pedaled powered kayak comprising, a hull, said hullhaving a stem, a keel and a central body portion, said keel having asubstantially round body portion ending in a pointed tip and, aretractable drive assembly connected to a propeller for driving saidkayak over a body of water, said drive assembly positioned over saidcentral body portion and extending through said bottom surface into andbelow said centrally formed concave recess.
 8. The pedal powered kayakas recited into claim 1, said hull further comprising a right sidefuller and a left side fuller, said right side fuller integrally formedon said hull and extending along said hull from said keel to said stemsaid left side fuller integrally formed on said hull and extending alongsaid hull from said keel to said stern, said fullers extending thewetting surface of said hull as said kayak moves over a body of water.9. The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1, said hull furthercomprising a right side stake and a left side stake, said right sidestake integrally formed on said hull and extending along said hull fromsaid keel to said stem said left side stake integrally formed on saidhull and extending along said hull from said keel to said stern, saidstakes causing a lifting of said hull as said kayak moves over a body ofwater.
 10. The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1, said kayakfurther comprising cable means for retracting said drive assembly. 11.The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 1, said kayak furthercomprising a retractable rudder assembly.
 12. The pedal powered kayak asrecited into claim 1, said kayak further comprising a trunk, said trunkformed in said central body portion, said trunk housing said driveassembly in retracted position.
 13. A pedal powered kayak, said pedaledpowered kayak comprising, a hull, said hull having a stern, a keel and acentral body portion, said keel having a substantially round bodyportion ending in a pointed tip and,
 14. The pedal powered kayak asrecited into claim 13, said hull further comprising a right side fullerand a left side fuller, said right side fuller integrally formed on saidhull and extending along said hull from said keel to said stem said leftside fuller integrally formed on said hull and extending along said hullfrom said keel to said stem, said fullers extending the wetting surfaceof said hull as said kayak moves over a body of water.
 15. The pedalpowered kayak as recited into claim 13, said hull further comprising aright side stake and a left side stake, said right side strakeintegrally formed on said hull and extending along said hull from saidkeel to said stern said left side stake integrally formed on said hulland extending along said hull from said keel to said stem, said stakescausing a lifting of said hull as said kayak moves over a body of water.16. The pedal powered kayak as recited into claim 13, said kayak furthercomprising cable means for retracting said drive assembly.
 17. The pedalpowered kayak as recited into claim 13, said kayak further comprising aretractable rudder assembly.
 18. The pedal powered kayak as recited intoclaim 13, said kayak further comprising a trunk, said trunk formed insaid central body portion, said trunk housing said drive assembly inretracted position.